Flagstaff.



No. 794,668. PATENTE'D JULY v11, 1965t 6L F. F. DOWNES.

PLAGSTAFF.

APPLIoATIoN FILED JUNE 1o. 1904.

PI Hl UNITED STATES Patented July 11, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

PHILIP H. DOVVNES AND FRANK F. DOWNES, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLAGSTAFF.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 794,668, dated July 11, 1905.

Application filed June l0, 1904. Serial No. 212,034.

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that we, PHILTP H. DowNEs and FRANK F. DowNEs, citizens of the United States, and residents of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Flagstaffs, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to flag-supports and the like; and its object is to provide animproved article of this class.

An objection to Hag supports, staffs, and the like as heretofore constructed has been that changes in the direction of the wind would in a comparatively short while after the flag was raised wind or twist the flag about the staff, so that it could not be read. Also it has heretofore been customary, particularly on board yachts and other vessels, to raise and lower signal-flags and the like by means of two lines, one passing from the deck through a sheave or block near the top of the mast or other spar of the vessel and thence to the middle of the fiagstaff, where its end was fastened, and the other line being fastened to the handle end of the iiagstai and passing' directly to the deck. The first line was used to raise the flag to the top of the mast and to hold it in position with the assistance of the second line, the lower end of both lines being made fast to a cleat on the mast or other fixture near the deck to secure the flag in its raised position. The second line, besides assisting in holding the iiag in its raised position, was also used in hauling down the flag. The objection to such devices was that while the Erst line which passed through the block or sheave would hold the middle portion of the staff snugly against the mast the other line running free from the end of the staff to the deck would stretch and give and not hold the handle end of the stalf in place. As a result the staff would not only be swung about by the wind, so that the signal or flag was poorly displayed and the lines chafed, but it was impossible as a practical matter to fasten the flag in a raised position otherwise than with its staff more or less canted or inclined from a Vertical position, and therefore the flag would a Hag-carrier rotatably mounted on said body portion near one end thereof. The advantages of this construction are that the flag being fastened to the rotatable carrier, which is free to turn on the body portion, said flag cannot become twisted or wound about the staff by the wind, as has heretofore been the case, and this is an especially-valuable feature when applied to signal pennants or iiags, which it is important should fly clear and open in order that they may be read.

In its best form our improved flag-support comprises also a mast or spar, on which are journaled two blocks or sheaves located at separated points-one preferably near the outer or upper end thereof and the other at a point nearer the middle of the mast. Two lines are provided-one for each sheave-and of these the line of the inner or lower sheave is fastened to the fiagstaif near the handle end,

while the other line is fastened to the agstaff at a point nearer the middle thereof. By this construction when the Hag is raised its staff is held rigidly to the mast at two separated and determinate points, so thatit is not canted with relation to the mast or spar and cannot be swung about by the wind or by the pitching of the vessel.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure lis a central longitudinal sectionalview of a portion of the agstalf hereinafter described. Fig. 2 is an elevation of our improved flagsupport. Fig. 3 isa plan view of the upper end of the mast or spar hereinafter described.

Having reference to the drawings, B represents a flagstaf, of which the main body portion or butt Z) is preferably of wood. The body portion b is provided at one end thereof with a conical bearing ring or block b', fixed rigidly in place by a screw b2, driven into the end of said body portion, said bearing-ring 6/ being interiorly threaded and screwed onto the screw Z22 against a fiange b3 before said screw is driven into place in the end of body b. Upon the outer end of screw b2 is mounted the interiorly-threaded lower end of a hollow stem or tube 59, whose upper end is also interiorly threaded and has mounted therein a second screw 59. Upon the outer end of screw 59 is mounted an interiorly-threaded conical bearing block or ring 59, opposed to the ring 5 and locked in position on said screw 55 by a check-nut 57 and clamping-screw 59, carried by the latter. It will thus be seen that screws 52 and 59, together with the tube 54, constitute an extension of the main body portion 5, which is smaller in diameter than said body portion. Surrounding this extension is a flag-carrier, (shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 as a sleeve 59,) within the lower' end of which is fixed a cupbearing 519, opposed to the conical ring 5', and within the upper end of sleeve 59 is fixed a cup-bearing 5u, opposed to the conical ring 59. Between ring 5 and cup 519 are arranged antifriction-balls 512, and between ring 59 and cup 511 are arranged antifriction-balls 599.

The upper end of sleeve 59 terminates in a ferrule 591, brazed or otherwise fastened partly. within the end of said sleeve, and upon the projecting end of this ferrule 591 is forced a cap 5M, covering the end of the extension and frictionally held in place, so that when the bearings on which sleeve 59 turns wear said cap can be removed for the purpose of adjusting ring 59 to take up such wear. Cap 514 being upon the outside of ferrule 591, a weathertight joint is provided at that point. Upon the body portion 5, adjacent sleeve 59, is fixed a ferrule 519, reduced in diameter at its outer end so as to fit within the lower end of sleeve 59 and provide a weather-tight joint at this point also.

Upon its exterior sleeve 59 is made with two eyes 519, to which a iiag can be fastened, as shown in Fig. l.

By having the sleeve 59 rotatably mounted on the body portion B and the flag attached to the sleeve the flag C cannot wrap about the staff, which has been an objectionable characteristic of fiagstaffs as heretofore constructed.

The reason for making the extension of the body portion of the staff in three parts 52, 54, and 59 is because with different-sized flags sleeves 59 of different lengths are required, and in the manufacture of the staffs they may be adapted to different-sized flags by using sleeves 59 and tubes 54 of the proper length without other changes in the parts.

In Fig. 2, A represents a mast or spar provided at its upper or outer end with a head a, made with a socket a. Immediately below head ct mast A is made with a transverse opening a2, in which is journaled a sheave a9, and at a pointl nearer the other end of the mast or spar A the latter is made with a like transverse opening a4, in which is journaled a second sheave a9. Fast to the handle end of flagstaff B 1s a line a9, extending from said staff over sheave 49 to the base of the mast A, 65

and fastened to staff B at a point nearer its other end is another line a9, extending from said staff over sheave a3 to the base of mast A. By means of these'two lines a9 and a9 staffl B can be raised into a vertical position at the top of the mast A, with the staff occupying the socket a'. By making the lower ends of lines co9 and a9 fast to a cleat t9 near the lower end of mast A staff B may be secured in that position. Preferably the line a9 is endlessthat is, its lower end extends from the base of mast A upwardly in a third line a9, fastened at its upper end to the end of staff B. This line a9 is provided mainly for use in lowering staff B. By this construction the staff B is held firmly and securely against A at two separated and determinate points, so that it cannot be swung about by the wind or by the pitching of a vessel in the manner that has heretofore characterized devices of this kind, and as a result the Hag is better displayed than has heretofore been the case, which is important when the flag is a signal-pennant.

While the fiagstaff above described, with its swiveled carrier 59, serves very well by itself to prevent the fiag twisting or wrapping about said staff even when held in a canted position, yet, as will be obvious, the best results in this direction will be secured when the novel hoisting means just described is combined therewith and by which the staff is held in a perpendicularposition.

What we claim is- 1. A flagstaf' comprising a butt; an extension at the outer endof the butt; a rotatable flag-holding sleeve surrounding said extension, and means near the outer end of the extension for holding the sleeve in place, the extension being made up of two screws and a stem one of the screws connecting one end of the stem'with the butt and the other screw being fast to the outer end of the stem and carrying the means for holding the sleeve in place.

2. A liagstaf'f comprising a butt; an extension at the outer end of the butt; a rotatable nag-holding sleeve surrounding said extension, means near the outer end of the extension for holding the sleeve in place, and a cap fixed to and closing the outer end of the sleeve, the extension being made up of two screws and a stem, one of the screws connecting one end of the stem with the butt and the other screw being fast to the outer end of the stem and carrying the means for holding the sleeve in place.

3. A flagstaff comprising a butt; an extension at the outer end of the butt made up of two screws and a stem one of the screws connecting one end of the stern with the butt and the other screw being fast to the outer end of the stem; a rotatable flag-holding sleeve surrounding said extension made atl each end IOO IIO

with an interior annular bearing; an annular bearing-ring surrounding the extension near its inner end and opposed to the annular bearing within the adjacent end of the sleeve, and an annular bearing-ring mounted upon the screw at the outer end of the extension and opposed to the annular bearing within the adjacent end of the sleeve.

4. A agstalf comprising a butt; an extension at the outer end of the butt made up of two screws and a hollow stern or tube, one of the screws connecting one end of the hollow stern with the butt and the other screw bei-ng fast to the outer end of the stern; a rotatable Hag-holding sleeve surrounding said extension and made at each end with an interior annular bearing; an annular bearing-ring surrounding the extension near its inner end and opposed to the annular bearing within the adjacent end of the sleeve; an annular bearingring mounted upon the screw at the outer end of the extension and opposed to the annular bearing within the adjacent end of the sleeve, and a cap fast to and closing the outer end of the sleeve.

Signed by us at Boston, Massachusetts, this 2d day of May, 1904.

PHILIP H. DOWNES. FRANK F. DOWNES. Witnesses:

ARTHUR F. RANDALL, JOSEPHINE H. RYAN. 

